The Colombian Harold Tejada wins stage 6 of the Paris-Nice in Apt

The sixth stage of the 2026 Paris-Nice left one of the surprises of the week. After two consecutive victories by Jonas Vingegaard, the Colombian Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) took advantage of the decisive moment of the final climb to the Cote de Saignon to launch a precise attack and head off solo towards victory in Apt. Dorian Godon and Lewis Askey completed the podium of a very selective finish, while the overall leader crossed the finish line within the chasing group without losing significant time.

Harold Tejada surprises in Apt and breaks Vingegaard's streak in stage 6 of the 2026 Paris-Nice

The day, covering 179.3 kilometers between Barbentane and Apt, began with movement from the very start. Attacks followed in the first kilometers until finally a breakaway formed by Joshua Tarling (INEOS Grenadiers), Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Steff Cras (Soudal Quick-Step), and Arthur Kluckers (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) was consolidated.

The quartet managed to exceed a two-minute lead during the middle part of the stage, on a route that accumulated several climbs and more than 2,000 meters of elevation gain. At the Cote de Bonnieux, Arrieta took the mountain points, while the peloton kept the breakaway under control.

Behind, teams like Visma Lease a Bike and Cofidis took on much of the work to prepare the ground for the demanding final part of the day. The race began to tighten about 40 kilometers from the finish with the climb to the Col de l’Aire Dei Masco, where the breakaway's margin started to clearly reduce.

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From there, the breakaway began to lose members. First, Cras dropped off, and subsequently, the rest of the escapees got closer to the peloton. Even Soren Kragh Andersen (Lidl-Trek) tried to anticipate with an attack from the main group, but his move did not manage to consolidate.

The race was completely open in the last 10 kilometers, with the remnants of the breakaway still ahead when the decisive climb to the Cote de Saignon (4.1 km at 5%) began. At that moment, the peloton neutralized the survivors of the breakaway, and the favorites' group began to shrink rapidly.

The first serious move came from Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), who attacked in the final part of the climb and caused a significant selection. It was in that context that Harold Tejada found his opportunity, taking advantage of the moment of reorganization after the Frenchman's attack and launching an offensive that allowed him to open a few meters before reaching the summit.

That small gap proved decisive. The Colombian launched down the descent towards Apt and managed to maintain a few seconds' lead over the chasing group, which did not find enough coordination to neutralize him. Tejada crossed the finish line with a six-second margin.

Behind, Dorian Godon was the fastest in the sprint of the chasing group to finish second, followed by Lewis Askey, while Jonas Vingegaard finished in the same group and maintained the race lead.

Top 10 – Stage 6 Paris-Nice 2026

1. Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) – 3:54:38
2. Dorian Godon (INEOS Grenadiers) +0:06
3. Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling Team) +0:06
4. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) +0:06
5. Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) +0:06
6. Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +0:06
7. Kévin Vauquelin (INEOS Grenadiers) +0:06
8. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) +0:06
9. Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +0:06
10. Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) +0:06

Top 10 – General Classification Paris-Nice 2026 (after stage 6)

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 21h 16’ 50’’
2. Daniel Felipe Martínez (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) +3:22
3. Georg Steinhauser (EF Education–EasyPost) +5:50
4. Kévin Vauquelin (INEOS Grenadiers) +6:09
5. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) +7:37
6. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates XRG) +8:15
7. Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) +9:02
8. Mathys Rondel (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) +10:06
9. Alex Baudin (EF Education–EasyPost) +10:16
10. Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) +11:27